Race, Crime, and the Law, Randall Kennedy
Race, Crime, and the Law, Randall Kennedy
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Race, Crime, and the Law

Author: Randall Kennedy

Narrator: Rhett Samuel Price

Unabridged: 17 hr 46 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/13/2021


Synopsis

An "admirable, courageous, and meticulously fair and honest book” (New York Times Book Review) in which “one of our most important and perceptive writers on race" (The Washington Post) takes on a highly complex issue in a way that no one has before.

"This book should be a standard for all law students."—Boston Globe

In this groundbreaking, powerfully reasoned, lucid work that is certain to provoke controversy, Harvard law professor Randall Kennedy takes on a highly complex issue in a way that no one has before. Kennedy uncovers the long-standing failure of the justice system to protect blacks from criminals, probing allegations that blacks are victimized on a widespread basis by racially discriminatory prosecutions and punishments, but he also engages the debate over the wisdom and legality of using racial criteria in jury selection. He analyzes the responses of the legal system to accusations that appeals to racial prejudice have rendered trials unfair, and examines the idea that, under certain circumstances, members of one race are statistically more likely to be involved in crime than members of another.

Reviews

Goodreads review by David on May 24, 2012

Although certain lengths of this book can be dry (especially the legal history stuff), my favorite part of this book is the section on racial profiling and Kennedy's arguments on the subject. Of course, a very sensitive subject but in my opinion Kennedy gives an evenhanded analysis. In essence, he a......more

Goodreads review by Steven on May 20, 2024

A BLACK LAW PROFESSOR LOOKS CAREFULLY AT LAWS THEIR EFFECTS Randall LeRoy Kennedy is an American law professor at Harvard University. He wrote in the Foreword to this 1997 book, “This book explores the bitterly contested crossroads where race relations intersect with the rules that govern the apprehe......more

Goodreads review by Nicko on August 04, 2007

There is a reason why Kennedy's book has become a "must read" among law professors. Harvard law professor, Kennedy brings terrific power to his very original work in this excellent review of issues regarding race, ethnicity, and the criminal justice system. Kennedy's arguments are principled and bal......more

Goodreads review by Monster on March 23, 2021

After reading this, I can understand Derrick Bell's gripe with Kennedy at the time, as some of his views on the role of race within law and legislation are the stuff of fairy tales, with him of the mind that things will just fix themselves and racial balancing initiatives, such as that for juries, a......more

Goodreads review by tt on April 16, 2025

Soooo this book did delay my reading journey due to its denseness but so unbelievably worth it. I can’t fathom how one could be working in the criminal system without using this book as a guide to understand the pigmentocracy that rules our country.......more


Quotes

Winner of the 1998 Robert F. Kennedy Book Award Grand Prize

"An admirable, courageous, and meticulously fair and honest book.” —New York Times Book Review

"This book should be a standard for all law students."—Boston Globe

"An original, wise and courageous work that moves beyond sterile arguments and lifts the discussion of race and justice to a new and more hopeful level."—Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.


Awards

  • Robert F. Kennedy Book Award